Samsung Q60D / Q67D / Q68D vs Samsung U8000F (VA)

The Samsung Q60D television, regardless of the scene being tested, achieves brightness above 500 nits, which is above average for this class of devices. Such a level of brightness allows one to experience a taste of true home cinema, with clearly visible details in bright parts of the image and well-reproduced contrast dynamics, especially when watching content from streaming platforms or movies played from Blu-ray. As a result, film screenings gain greater depth and realism, particularly in well-lit scenes. Despite the use of quantum dot technology (QLED), the television does not achieve outstanding results in colour reproduction. The coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space is only 90%, which may be noticeable in more demanding scenes, where the richness and saturation of colours play a key role in image quality.

While the U8000F with a VA panel can still be praised for decent blacks, there is no longer any reason to be enthusiastic about brightness – especially in HDR scenes. The television achieves a maximum of just under 250 nits, which is simply too low to speak of any impressive light effects. Bright elements appear pale, and scenes that should sparkle look rather flat. We observed an interesting situation during the test of a scene from the film Sicario 2 – the screen became noticeably darker, as if the television was trying to hide its limitations in displaying blacks. One might get the impression that the device artificially darkens the image to enhance contrast, but in practice, the effect makes very little difference, other than the fact that we see less on the screen. Furthermore, there is the issue of colours – the U8000F does not support a wide colour gamut, so one cannot count on the vibrant, saturated hues known from better models. The HDR image here resembles slightly brightened SDR and... perhaps that is even a good thing. With this model, it is not worth expecting a cinematic experience – it is better to treat HDR as a modest addition.

Samsung has been offering a "Filmmaker" mode in its televisions for several years, aimed at providing the most faithful picture settings straight from the factory, in accordance with the vision of filmmakers. This is certainly a significant step towards cinematic quality at home; however, it is worth noting that this mode is not without its problems.

For instance, the white balance in both SDR and HDR modes exhibits an excessive amount of red hue, causing the picture to appear too warm. As a result, the skin of actors and bright scenes may seem unnaturally pinkish. The Colour Checker test further confirms this issue – colour samples often shift towards red tones, deviating from the neutral colour reproduction that would be more desirable in a professional setting.

When it comes to contrast, there is a noticeable drop at the beginning of the gamma graph, where values below 2.4 drop all the way down to 2.1. Consequently, the image in darker scenes may appear less distinct, losing depth. In terms of HDR content, the EOTF curve (responsible for brightness reproduction) shows a strong spike at the beginning of the graph, which may lead to excessive brightness in the lighter parts of the image, disrupting the natural tonal balance.

The Samsung U8000F has been tested by us in the best picture mode it offers out of the box – the Filmmaker Mode. This profile is theoretically meant to provide a neutral, cinematic image devoid of unnecessary enhancements and artificial beautifications. In the case of SDR content – primarily in HD or SD resolution – the television performed surprisingly decently right out of the box. The only noticeable flaw was brightness management. The gamma chart showed some deviations – slight brightening or dimming of certain tones – but in practice, this did not significantly affect the viewing experience. Considering the television's segment, it performs quite well.

However, the situation is much weaker in HDR mode. While the white balance was still acceptable, the colour inaccuracies were very apparent. In the Color Checker test, almost every sample was outside the target point, and the image itself appeared unnatural – the colours were shifted, sometimes too cool, other times simply dull and lifeless. The main problem lies in the hardware limitations – the U8000F does not support the wide colour gamut of DCI-P3, so it is physically incapable of reproducing the colours that the HDR standard anticipates. Unfortunately, this is evident in almost every more demanding scene.

After professional calibration of the Samsung Q60D television in film mode, users can enjoy a significant improvement in image quality. Samsung televisions have always offered 2- and 20-point grey scale adjustments, as well as an advanced CMS (Color Management System), which allows for precise colour and shade adjustments. The white balance for both SDR and HDR has been free from strong spikes and tendencies for colours to shift to red hues, greatly enhancing the naturalness of the image. Although a few more significant errors can still be observed in HDR mode, the overall colour reproduction quality has been excellently improved. Regarding contrast, although drastic changes cannot be mentioned due to limitations in the television's technology, the improvement is noticeable. Thanks to calibration, details in dark scenes are more visible, and the differences between light and dark elements of the image have been enhanced. This makes the overall viewing experience more satisfying, allowing viewers to enjoy greater depth and realism in the displayed content.

Right out of the box, the U8000F offered quite a decent image in SDR for its price class. However, we managed to enhance it slightly – we reduced a subtle purple tint and improved the gamma characteristics, giving it a more natural curve. Despite these adjustments, the television still tends to overly brighten the brightest details – the gamma chart shows a clear inflection that cannot be completely corrected.

In HDR mode, however, it is noticeably weaker. It is hard to speak of any significant improvement here – despite attempts to adjust the settings, the image still presents considerable colour inaccuracies. A Delta E exceeding 7 signifies noticeable deviations that could not be effectively reduced. Unfortunately, this is a limitation of the construction itself – the U8000F simply was not designed for serious HDR. In everyday viewing in SDR, it performs quite well, but when it comes to HDR content... it's best not to have overly high expectations.

However, when it comes to processing and scaling lower quality materials, the television performs quite well. The image is rendered without overscan, which ensures full use of the available screen area. Additionally, the outlines of the model or the branches of the tree are not overly jagged, which translates to a satisfactory quality of the displayed content. Although noise reduction could be more effective, the overall results of processing lower quality materials are positive and meet expectations.

When it comes to how the Samsung U8000F handles lower quality materials, we must admit that Samsung has made progress compared to its predecessor from last year – the DU7192 model, which theoretically occupies the same position in the lineup. This year's model has been equipped with a feature to improve the fluidity of tone transitions, which has been implemented much better than last year. Indeed, the television still utilizes quite strong algorithms that can distort details or remove film grain, but nonetheless – it can confidently be said that it works effectively. However, not everything has gone perfectly. The U8000F has noticeable issues with slightly cutting the image when watching very old content in very low resolution. If someone plans to play their old VHS tape, they must reckon with the fact that the image may appear slightly "cut off".

Samsung Q60D is equipped with a 60 Hz panel and a film smoothness enhancement option known as "Motion Blur Reduction." This feature aims to minimise motion blur and enhance overall image smoothness, which will certainly appeal to users who are primarily looking for a television to watch films and series. Thanks to this technology, viewers can enjoy a more fluid visual experience, even in dynamic action scenes where details are crucial. However, it is worth noting that while "Motion Blur Reduction" improves the smoothness of images in films, for gaming, this panel may not be the best choice as it exhibits significant motion blur, which can be seen in the picture below.

The Samsung U8000F is equipped with a 60 Hz panel, so it's clear right from the start that one shouldn't expect miracles. This is simply the standard in this class – adequate for everyday viewing, but without any fireworks. The television offers a single motion smoothing slider – a feature called "Motion Blur Reduction," which allows us to adjust the smoothness of the image in films. Higher settings produce a more "theatrical" and smoothed effect, while lower settings help retain the film's original character with a slight 24p effect. An interesting feature is "Clear Motion LED," which is the BFI mode – inserting black frames between image frames to improve motion clarity. In practice, however, the screen flickers heavily when this feature is activated and should rather be considered an experiment than something that genuinely enhances gaming comfort.

Samsung Q60D is equipped with features such as ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group) and Game Bar, which significantly enhance the gaming experience. However, the lack of HDMI 2.1 implementation limits capabilities, preventing the use of VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which could further improve smoothness and picture quality. Overall, for casual gamers, this television should perform well in everyday use, providing satisfactory gaming experiences. However, if we are more demanding in terms of gaming, it is worth considering models with a higher refresh rate and HDMI 2.1, which will ensure full functionality and better support for the latest games. In such cases, investing in a more advanced television will yield significantly better results in terms of smoothness and picture quality, which is crucial for gaming enthusiasts.

Samsung U8000F offers a basic set of features for gamers, which may still be sufficient for less demanding users. It includes an automatic game mode – when a game is launched on the console, the television automatically switches to low latency mode, significantly improving response times. There is also a VRR feature, or variable refresh rate, which operates in the range of 48 to 60 Hz. This means that both Xbox and PS5 will not produce the "tearing" effect – as long as we stay within this range.

Unfortunately, that’s about it for the advantages. Additions like Game Bar or higher refresh rates are reserved for higher-end Samsung models from the 2025 line. In theory, the television also supports the HGiG feature, which should adjust HDR imagery to the creators' intentions. Unfortunately – despite the fact that this feature appears in brochures and promotional materials – its configuration on the Xbox console turned out to be... impossible in practice.